Geographic targeting setting that controls which locations see your ads (countries, regions, cities, postal codes, radius around address).
What is Location Targeting in Google Ads? Location Targeting controls where ads appear geographically: countries, cities, postal codes, radius 1-500 miles around address. "Presence or Interest" (show to people IN location + people searching FOR location) vs "Presence only" (only people IN location). Local businesses: use tight radius + Presence only. Hotels/tourism: use city + Presence or Interest. 40% higher CTR with proper radius targeting.
Location Targeting defines the geographic areas where your Google Ads appear, ranging from entire countries to 1-mile radius targeting around a specific address. Advertisers select locations from Google's geographic database (250+ countries, 60,000+ cities, millions of postal codes) or define custom radius targets (1-500 miles around any address/landmark). Google determines user location through IP address (desktop), GPS (mobile), and Wi-Fi signals. Location Targeting includes two fundamental modes: "Presence or Interest" (default—show ads to people IN the target location or people SEARCHING FOR the target location from elsewhere) and "Presence only" (restrictive—only show ads to people physically IN the location). Location exclusions prevent ads from showing in specific areas. Local businesses achieve 40% higher CTR using tight radius targeting (5-15 miles) compared to city-wide targeting. Location Targeting is available across all campaign types and can be layered with Location-specific bid adjustments (+50% for high-value zip codes).
Official Source: Definition verified from Google Ads Help Center (Last verified: January 2026)
"Location targeting lets you select specific geographic locations where you want your ads to show. You can target countries, areas within a country, a radius around a location, or location groups."
A high-end hair salon in Beverly Hills wants to attract local clients without wasting budget on distant searchers. Currently targeting "Los Angeles, CA" (entire city, 500+ square miles) with Search campaign, keywords "hair salon," "balayage near me," "hair colorist." Daily budget $150, CTR 5.2%, CPC $6.80, CVR 3.1%, CPA $219. Problem: 40% of clicks come from users 25+ miles away who never book appointments.
Solution: Switch to 10-mile radius targeting around salon address Geographic Setup: - 10-mile radius (Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Century City) - "Presence only" mode (eliminates tourist Interest clicks) - Location bid adjustments: +35% for 90210/90211, +15% for 90069, +0% for Santa Monica Results after 30 days: - CTR: 5.2% → 6.8% (+31%) - CPC: $6.80 → $5.20 (-24%) - CVR: 3.1% → 5.4% (+74%) - CPA: $219 → $96 (-56%) Budget Efficiency: Before: 10,000 impressions across 500 sq miles (20% relevant traffic) After: 7,500 impressions in 10-mile radius (85% relevant traffic) Conversions: 38 bookings → 40 bookings (+5%) at 35% lower cost Key insight: Tight radius targeting eliminated distant, low-intent traffic while maintaining conversion volume at dramatically lower CPA.
Location Targeting prevents wasted spend on geographically irrelevant traffic and focuses budgets on serviceable markets. A plumber in Austin shouldn't pay for clicks from Seattle users—90% of local service businesses operate within 25-mile radius from headquarters. Proper location targeting eliminates 30-60% of non-convertible traffic for location-dependent businesses. For national brands, location targeting enables market-specific messaging: snow tire ads in Minnesota, not Florida. Location bid adjustments optimize budgets: +40% bids in high-performing zip codes (90210 luxury goods), -30% in low-converting rural areas. E-commerce businesses use location exclusions to avoid shipping to Alaska/Hawaii where shipping costs exceed profit margins. Understanding "Presence or Interest" vs "Presence only" is critical: a Miami hotel using "Presence or Interest" pays for clicks from tourists in NYC searching "Miami beach hotels" (qualified traffic), while "Presence only" would miss these high-intent vacation planners and only show ads to people already in Miami (too late for hotel booking).
Using "Presence or Interest" for local services—a dentist in Chicago using "Presence or Interest" shows ads to people IN Chicago AND people elsewhere searching "dentist in Chicago" (possibly moving there, researching for relatives, or unqualified traffic). Switch to "Presence only" to avoid paying $8 CPC for clicks from California users researching Chicago dentists for their cousin.
Targeting entire cities instead of radius targeting for local businesses—targeting "Austin, TX" (city boundary) includes suburbs 40 miles away where customers won't drive for service. Use 15-mile radius from business address instead, reducing wasted impressions by 55% while maintaining 95% of convertible traffic.
Not using location exclusions—an e-commerce company shipping to "United States" without excluding Alaska, Hawaii, US territories pays for clicks but can't fulfill orders economically (shipping costs 3x product price). Exclude non-serviceable locations immediately.
Match location targeting to your service area: Local services (plumber, dentist, restaurant) → 5-25 mile radius from address. Regional businesses (furniture store with delivery) → 50-100 mile radius or specific counties. National brands → All US locations or state-by-state. Use the Google Ads Reach Planner to estimate available impressions per location before narrowing targeting too tightly.
Use "Presence only" for local services, "Presence or Interest" for destination-based businesses: Local services (dentist, lawyer, HVAC) → "Presence only" ensures only local residents see ads. Destination businesses (hotels, vacation rentals, tourist attractions) → "Presence or Interest" captures tourists researching FROM elsewhere (80% of hotel bookings come from "Interest" targeting).
Apply location bid adjustments based on performance: Export location report (by city/postal code) quarterly, identify high-performing vs low-performing areas. Increase bids +30-50% in high-CVR locations (wealthy zip codes, downtown business districts), decrease -20-40% in low-CVR areas (distant suburbs, low-income areas where product doesn't resonate). Location adjustments can improve ROAS by 25% without changing budget.
Create separate campaigns for vastly different geographic markets: Don't lump NYC + rural Montana into one campaign—performance, CPCs, competition, and customer behavior differ drastically. Separate campaigns enable location-specific ad copy ("Fast Delivery in Manhattan" vs "Serving Rural Communities Since 1995"), landing pages, budgets, and strategies.
Groups of people you can target or observe in Google Ads based on their interests, behaviors, demographics, or interactions with your business.
Additional pieces of information you can add to your Google Ads that make them larger, more useful, and more likely to be clicked.
Geographic targeting setting that controls which locations see your ads (countries, regions, cities, postal codes, radius around address).
Text ads that appear on Google search results when people search for keywords you target, letting you reach users with high purchase intent.
This setting controls whether you show ads to people SEARCHING for your location from elsewhere: "Presence or Interest" (default): Show ads to people in your target location OR people interested in your target location (searching for it from elsewhere). Example: Miami hotel targeting Miami with "Presence or Interest" shows ads to (1) people currently in Miami searching "hotels near me" AND (2) tourists in NYC searching "Miami beach hotels." Captures vacation planners before they arrive. "Presence only" (restrictive): Only show ads to people physically located in your target location right now. Same Miami hotel with "Presence only" only shows ads to people currently in Miami—misses 80% of hotel bookers who research from home before traveling. When to use Presence or Interest: Hotels, tourist attractions, vacation rentals, real estate (people research locations remotely), restaurants in tourist areas, destination retailers. Captures high-intent "Interest" traffic worth paying for. When to use Presence only: Local services (plumber, dentist, lawyer, HVAC, hair salon) where customers must be local residents, delivery businesses with strict radius limits, brick-and-mortar retail without destination appeal. Avoids wasted clicks from distant researchers who will never convert. Impact: Switching from "Presence or Interest" to "Presence only" typically reduces impressions/clicks by 20-40% for competitive markets but increases CVR by 15-30% for local service businesses by eliminating non-local traffic.
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